Hacking is the art of creative problem solving, whether that means finding an unconventional solution to a difficult problem or exploiting holes in sloppy programming. Many people call themselves hackers, but few have the strong technical foundation needed to really push the envelope.

Rather than merely showing how to run existing exploits, author Jon Erickson explains how arcane hacking techniques actually work. To share the art and science of hacking in a way that is accessible to everyone, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition introduces the fundamentals of C programming from a hacker's perspective.

The included LiveCD provides a complete Linux programming and debugging environment—all without modifying your current operating system. Use it to follow along with the book's examples as you fill gaps in your knowledge and explore hacking techniques on your own. Get your hands dirty debugging code, overflowing buffers, hijacking network communications, bypassing protections, exploiting cryptographic weaknesses, and perhaps even inventing new exploits. This book will teach you how to:

Program computers using C, assembly language, and shell scripts

Corrupt system memory to run arbitrary code using buffer overflows and format strings

Inspect processor registers and system memory with a debugger to gain a real understanding of what is happening

Crack encrypted wireless traffic using the FMS attack, and speed up brute-force attacks using a password probability matrix

Hackers are always pushing the boundaries, investigating the unknown, and evolving their art. Even if you don't already know how to program, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition will give you a complete picture of programming, machine architecture, network communications, and existing hacking techniques. Combine this knowledge with the included Linux environment, and all you need is your own creativity.

Author Bio

Jon Erickson has a formal education in computer science and speaks frequently at computer security conferences around the world. He works as a cryptologist and security specialist in Northern California.

Need a copy of the Hacking CD right away? Bought the PDF and wondering how you'll follow along? You can download the .torrent directly here.

Reviews

"A book this good is a rare find, and certainly worth the read for any individual interested in security. Rating: 9/10"
—Slashdot (Read More)

"This book does a great job of covering C programming, assembly programming, vulnerability discovery, and exploitation all in one. If you are going to read only one book, start here."
—Dino Dai Zovi

"Like all good books, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition encourages you to get your hands dirty. Each chapter focuses on a series of examples with finely worded guidance from Erickson. It's not a beast of a read either; it is highly accessible with an emphasis on allowing practice of the examples rather than drowning the reader in hacking theory."
—The Register (Read More)

"With especially clear coverage of heap and stack overflows, this book not only explains what's involved in hacking, but walks readers through common tools and techniques."
—InformIT (Read More)

"A security professional's paradise, burrowing down to the code level of dozens of different loopholes and explaining the underlying logic behind the attacks."
—GeekDad on Wired.com (Read More)

"This is a good book. It does a great job of first establishing the mindset of a hacker and then walking the reader step by step through the various techniques of finding interesting ways to solve problems. This in itself is what the author claims is the defining characteristic of a hacker, and I agree."
—;login: The USENIX Magazine (Read More)

"This book will take any programmer well beyond the usual programming techniques covered in conventional programming books."
—Electronic Design (Read More)

"Those whose jobs are to protect computer systems and applications must understand these flaws and techniques in order to fix, prevent and protect against them. This does not only apply to computing, but to any other field where a 'bad guy' can take advantage of a system for their own selfish reasons. Once knowledge has been released, it becomes very difficult to put it back in its box. This book is just knowledge wrapped in a different package. We recommend you strongly consider this title if you would like to enter this field or add to your repertoire."
—Gizmos for Geeks (Read More)

"Jon Erickson has completed the second edition of his seminal work, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, adding a significant amount of text to the original work. In doing so, he has created a work that will quickly become a "go-to" guide for anyone wanting to learn hacking, or who wants to understand the hacking mindset."
—Blogcritics.org (Read More)

"Personally, this is a book I am extremely glad to own. I see it as a powerful tool in the arsenal of both sysadmins and developers alike in guarding their applications and systems from these attacks, as well as understanding what to look for, how they can happen, and the mindset of those trying them out."
—Cory Foy, software developer (Read More)

"This fantastic little book - actually not so little anymore at 488 pages - is a real gem for the serious code geek, or those in search of their inner code geek."
—The IT Security Guy (Read More)

"I now recommend this book for the Exploitation chapter alone. This chapter covers buffer and function overflows and the format string vulnerability. Buy the book and discover why strings should be formatted like this:

Page 8:
In the first structure under the header 0x231, the phrase "Set of instruction" should read "Set of instructions."

Page 19:
The code in "firstprog.c" reads:printf("Hello, world!\n");
It should instead read:puts("Hello, world!\n");

Page 22:
In the first paragraph, the second to last sentence should read: "The 32-bit processors have 2^32 (or 4,294,967,296) possible addresses, while current 64-bit processors have a 48-bit address space, allowing for 2^48 addresses."

Page 25:
The last sentence of the first full paragraph should note that EIP points to a memory address at 0x804837a, not 0x804838a.

Page 55:
In the code listing for the pointer_types3.c program, the first for loop's comment should read: "Iterate through the char array with the int_pointer." The second for loop's comment should read: "Iterate through the int array with the char_pointer."

Page 56:
In the code listing for the pointer_types4.c program, the first comment should read: "Iterate through the char array with the void_pointer." The second comment should read: "Iterate through the int array with an unsigned integer."

Page 57:
In the code listing for the pointer_types5.c program, the first comment should read: "Iterate through the char array with an unsigned integer." The second comment should read: "Iterate through the int array with an unsigned integer."

Page 71:
In the stack_example.c code, the text should read "The local variables for the function inclue a 4-byte integer called flag and a 10-character buffer called buffer."

Page 72:
In the block of code at the top of the page, the second line which reads "(gdb) disass test_function()" should instead read "(gdb) disass test_function".

Page 74:
The (2) should be placed at 0xbffff7dc in the gdb listing. This is the last hexword on the second line of the stack listing... directly above where the (4) is. The hexvalue for that position in the text is 0x080483b9.

Page 87:
In section 0x282, in the first section after output: For "simplenote*" files, the owner is reader and the group is users and reader.

Page 88:
In section 0x282, the first sentence of the page after the code should read: "The first command (chmod 731) gives read, write, and execute permissions to the user..."